Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
An Oscar
Wilde Mystery
Gyles
Brandreth
Touchstone (Hardcover)
ISBN-10: 1-4391-3728-5 (1439137285)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3728-4 (9781439137284)
Publication Date: September 2009
List Price: $24.00
Synopsis (from
the publisher): Playwright and raconteur Oscar Wilde embarks on another
adventure as he sets sail for America in the 1880s on a roller coaster
of a lecture tour.
But the adventure doesn't truly begin until Oscar boards an ocean liner
headed back across the Atlantic and joins a motley crew led by French
impresario Edmond La Grange. As Oscar becomes entangled with the La
Grange acting dynasty, he suspects that all is not as it seems.
What begins with a curious death at sea soon escalates to a series of
increasingly macabre tragedies once the troupe arrives in Paris to
perform Hamlet. A strange air of indifference surrounds these seemingly
random events, inciting Oscar to dig deeper, aided by his friends
Robert Sherard and the divine Sarah Bernhardt. What he discovers is a
horrifying secret -- one that may bring him closer to his own last
chapter than anyone could have imagined.
Review: Good
friend, colleague, and poet Robert Sherard chronicles a new adventure
for Oscar Wilde that spans over a year in his life in Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile,
the third mystery in this series by Gyles Brandreth.
In late 1881, Wilde sets sail from Liverpool to New York City to embark
on a year-long lecture tour of the United States. He ends his tour in
New York City, where he meets the stage actor/manager Edmond La Grange,
his family, and his company of actors. They will be returning on the
same ship as Wilde back to Europe. The trip doesn't start well, though.
La Grange's valet decides not to accompany him, so Wilde offers the
services of his own valet, Tranquir, in his stead. Then someone kills
La Grange's mother's pet dog. Soon after arriving in Paris, Tranquir is
found dead in his room, an apparent suicide. La Grange's son, Bernard
seems to have taken to the streets as a vagrant and his twin sister,
Agnes, screams or breaks into tears at the drop of a hat (so to speak).
"What is it with this family?" Wilde wonders. When he begins digging
into their lives, he uncovers a staggering secret that affects every
member of the La Grange family and many of their associates.
As Oscar Wilde was a real person, and are several of the characters
that populate the book, from Arthur Conan Doyle to Sarah Bernhardt, and
with the retrospective manner in which the story is told, it's hard at
times to remember that Edmond La Grange and his family are fictional,
so well drawn are they. It's a well-spun tale of mystery and intrigue,
and Oscar Wilde and his wide sphere of friends and associates are very
enjoyable characters to get to know. Wilde's famous wit is also
prominently on display ("You should never trust a man that shows you
his lower teeth when he smiles," he quips) as is his keen intellect in
solving a series of most mysterious crimes. This third book, Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile,
like the series itself, is highly recommended.
Special thanks to guest reviewer Betty of The Betz Review for contributing her review of Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile and to Touchstone for providing a copy of the book for this review.
Review Copyright © 2009 — Hidden Staircase Mystery Books — All Rights Reserved
Have you read Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile? How would you rate it?
Mysteries in this series ...
Oscar
Wilde
and
a Death of No Importance
Touchstone (Hardcover), January 2008
ISBN-10: 1-4165-5174-3 (1416551743)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-5174-4 (9781416551744)
Oscar Wilde and a Game Called Murder
Touchstone (Hardcover), September 2008
ISBN-10: 1-4165-7579-0 (1416575790)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4165-7579-5 (9781416575795)
Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
Touchstone (Hardcover), September 2009
ISBN-10: 1-4391-3728-5 (1439137285)
ISBN-13: 978-1-4391-3728-4 (9781439137284)
Omnimystery keywords for Oscar Wilde and the Dead Man's Smile
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Location(s) referenced: New York City, Paris.
